


Illusion of Freedom

by Yeoyou



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-02 19:53:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6580138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeoyou/pseuds/Yeoyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phryne doesn’t like the idea that she’s somehow linked to another human being by God or the Universe or whatever. It makes her feel trapped whenever she thinks about it. And Phryne hates nothing more...</p>
<p>UPDATE: Now with slightly expanded first chapter, added second chapter and the briefest of brief epilogues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> UPDATE: The first chapter has been expanded because I forgot half of what I actually wanted to include. The second chapter (+ brief epilogue) is dedicated to all of you lovely people who wanted more. It's still not terribly much but it does feel more complete now.  
> THANK YOU for all the wonderful reviews and nice words. I'm sorry I kinda make you read this again just because my brain is so muddled ;)

If she is quite honest, Phryne has never really seen the appeal of the whole soulmate thing. Where’s the fun in being with just one person? Why should she spend all her time looking for someone whom she might never meet and who might live in the most backwards region of Mongolia for all she knows!

Phryne doesn’t like the idea that she’s somehow linked to another human being by God or the Universe or whatever. It makes her feel trapped whenever she thinks about it. And Phryne hates nothing more.

So she defies the Universe (or God) and is determined to have as much fun with as many men as she can manage. Because she wants it. Because she decides it. No superior power will make her look all mooney eyed, thank you very much.

Everyone always talks about those who’ve found each other. Well, Phryne is happy for them but she’s seen the flipside too. Longing etched into every line of people’s bodies, the unmistakable look in their eyes that speaks of waiting, of hoping, of never finding.

There is exactly one scar that is not her own, that appeared one day on her smooth pale skin. A fine line behind her ear. A knife maybe? She doesn’t even want to think about it. Not because she is worried about “the man”. For a brief moment she even hoped he would be dead and stop looming over her life like a dreadful shadow. But the thought didn't stay, of course, she’s seen too many men die in the hospital during the war to wish that on anyone. But it reminded her, that another has the power to mark her body, can shape it into a foreign object. The thought scares her. It is a cruel world that tethers people together like that. How can the soldier wounded in the war count on his girl to support him if the same wounds are forced on her? No amount of love can be enough in return.

True love is overrated, in Phryne’s opinion. It’s probably great if you have it but she has always believed in the power of other love, too. Love that frequently gets overlooked in the frenzy of soulmate searching.

Phryne believes in family – well, maybe not hers in particular. She doesn’t see what’s so great about her parents’ relationship even if it’s supposed to be “true love”. But she still misses her sister, dreadfully. How can any romantic love come even close to that bond she shared with Janey? And now that the Universe (or God) has given her Jane, why would she pine for a man? Sure, she never wanted children and she still doesn't understand what's so terribly exciting about babies, who mostly cry at inopportune hours of the night in her experience and whose nappies she wouldn't even touch with a ten foot pole. But she does love having Jane around. To teach her and know that this girl, at least, will have the upbringing and life that she would have wanted for her sister. Mother is not a role Phryne aspires to but guardian is something she might do very well after all.

Phryne believes in friendship. Drinking with Mac. Laughing with her. About Aunt Prudence. About men. About anything. She could never have the same kind of conversations with a man that she has with Mac. She knows she would do anything for her and is relatively sure that Mac would do the same – although probably with a lot of grumbling. Nobody talks about the possibility that there might be such a thing as soulmate friendships but looking at Mac and her, Phryne is ready to believe it’s possible.

Phryne believes in respect and affection. She feels both for Mr Butler. Always steady, stalwart, and reliable. She hardly remembers how she used to cope without him. She is secretly convinced that he can read minds but it doesn't bother her if it means he always knows exactly when she is in need of a strong drink. She trusts him utterly and it is a thing too rare and precious to be simply overlooked, to be outshone by something fleeting and unreliable as true love. Cec and Bert may not generally be known to be completely trustworthy or law-abiding but Phryne would not – and does not – hesitate to entrust them with her own life or with the lives of those she loves. She knows that she has so much already that she never looked for and found nonetheless.

And then there's Dot. Phryne is incredibly proud of the strong and brave and smart woman Dot is turning into before – and under – her eyes. Teaching her, talking with her is a delight she never anticipated when she first met the demure and shy girl. They are very different and very much the same and Phryne can’t picture her life without her anymore. If she is quite honest with herself, she knows that the house will feel very empty once Dot becomes Mrs Hugh Collins. Nevertheless, she is happy for the couple. For both of these halves that have found each other.

But Phryne doesn’t feel half. She is whole and happy and revels in the luxury of doing whatever she wants. Revels in loving whom she chooses to love. Revels in being loved. Revels in being free.

And then, one day, she spots the fine scar behind the left ear of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.


	2. Chapter 2

It scares her. When Phryne first discovers that hauntingly familiar scar behind Jack's ear, she tries to deny it. Because she _knows_ that he is important to her and ironically that is exactly why the possibility that he might be her soulmate frightens her. She knows it makes no sense. She knows she should rejoice, grab his stupidly handsome face and finally kiss him. The Universe (and God) knows she's wanted it for the longest time.

But all of a sudden, he looks like a trap to her. Like a golden cage, with smiling eyes and surprisingly soft hands and that knowing smirk that looks far too deep into her soul where other men only saw her body. She had let them only see her body, her flirtatious smiles and invitingly pursed lips. It had been a mask she'd worn well, so well it had become reality for her too. And she doesn't want to part with it.

She wants Jack. But not on these terms. Not because the Universe (or God) decided that he was the one for her. But because _she_ wants him.

She could just ignore it. She tries it, too. But even at the start she knew it would never work. Damn it. Just like Eve she cannot resist the apple (and the knowledge) dangling in front of her eyes.

Phryne's always been curious. Too curious probably. And while the prospect of everything changing scares her, she does wonder. What it would be like. How it would feel to be with him.

She does wonder, too. If he knows. What he might think if he does. Would he be happy? Knowing Jack, he'd probably sigh and roll his eyes and quip about the unfairness of the Universe, because he had to be soulmate to a woman who ran across rooftops in pursuit of burglars in her free time. Because he would be saddled with her for life now.

For life. It's a strange concept for Phryne. The idea of being or doing anything for the rest of her days. Janey's death and the war have thoroughly cured her of the notion that "for life" has to be long. She has always felt free in the knowledge that there is nothing tying her down now that she is of age and has money enough to do what she wants. But that's not true anymore, is it? She has chosen to grow roots and though they are new, they are surprisingly strong already. She has her little family, built and collected by Phryne herself. And she can't imagine just leaving anymore. Leaving Jane. Leaving Dot. Leaving Jack.

Like a fish on the line, she struggles, and is still aware of being reeled in further every second. Because she cannot deny how she is drawn to him.

It's Dot, curiously enough, who teaches her that it might be alright. Phryne hasn't spoken to anyone about her discovery but they do talk about the upcoming nuptials of Dot and Hugh. Phryne truly believes that everything will work out for the two but she isn't blind to the struggles involved. They both expected their married life to be different and now they have to realign their assumptions with the surprising truth that Dot is, after all, a modern woman. One who wants to keep on working. Phryne applauds her. And not only for selfish reasons alone. But she can't deny that it puts a strain on the young couple's relationship. And it worries her.

Dot worries too, but she also has faith. "God has provided us for each other, just like He provides grain for us to eat. But He does expect us to work for it, too, Miss. By accepting God's gift, we accept that we have to take care of it, so it can grow."

It's a choice. To accept the gift and work hard for it to keep it alive. Or to decline it and be left wondering.

It won't be easy and, as yet, she has no idea how it could even work. But to keep the box and not open it?

Pandora it is then. There was hope in that box after all.


	3. Epilogue

She was right. He does grumble. A lot. But he smiles, too, and when they kiss, it feels true. It feels like home.

So maybe the Universe (or God) was right after all. But Phryne doesn't mind. Because she chose this. Because she chose Jack.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [They Tell A Story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7671811) by [TheEyeofTheOncomingStorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEyeofTheOncomingStorm/pseuds/TheEyeofTheOncomingStorm)




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